4.6
stars
239 ratings

dr. Jorg Huijding

60,866 already enrolled

Offered By

Understanding child development: from synapse to society

Utrecht University

About this Course

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In this course, we dive into the topic of child development. You will learn that child development is complex and is influenced by a surprisingly rich number of factors at many different levels of organization. You will see that development can be studied in various domains and at various levels of understanding, from different angles and disciplines. Importantly, you will come to understand that processes within and between the various domains and levels of organization continuously interact to shape development. This implies that understanding development requires taking an interdisciplinary approach.
In order to help you organize your thinking about this complexity you will learn more about the developmental systems approach and theories related to that. We will look, amongst other things, at the brain and motor development, cognitive, language and social-emotional development and all the factors that have an influence on development.

To illustrate how an interdisciplinary approach helps to understand child development you will see how researchers from various disciplines and backgrounds study child development at Utrecht University. These scientists will give a look in their field of knowledge and their collaboration with colleagues, to illustrate how the theory you will learn translates to practice.

In sum, we invite you to follow us on a journey to understand child development from synapse to society!

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Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

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Beginner Level

Approx. 28 hours to complete

English

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Flexible deadlines

Reset deadlines in accordance to your schedule.

Shareable Certificate

Earn a Certificate upon completion

100% online

Start instantly and learn at your own schedule.

Beginner Level

Approx. 28 hours to complete

English

Could your company benefit from training employees on in-demand skills?

Try Coursera for Business

Instructor

Instructor rating

4.82/5 (79 Ratings)

dr. Jorg Huijding

Associate Professor Clinical Child and Family Studies

Education and Pedagogy

60,866 Learners

1 Course

Offered by

Utrecht University

Founded in 1636 and located in the heart of the Netherlands, Utrecht University is one of Europe's leading research universities, recognised internationally for a high-quality, innovative approach to research and teaching. Studying at Utrecht University means studying at one of the world's best universities, with a total student body of around 30,000 students and 12 Nobel prize winners.Utrecht University offers over 90 graduate programmes (MSc, MA) and 12 undergraduate programmes (BSc, BA, LLM). All programmes are fully English-taught, and cover a wide range of academic disciplines including Natural Sciences, Law, Governance, Life Sciences, Humanities, Social Sciences and Earth Sciences.

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Syllabus - What you will learn from this course

Content Rating97%(7,312 ratings)

Week1

Week 1

6 hours to complete

Introduction to Dynamics of Youth

6 hours to complete

3 videos (Total 23 min), 7 readings, 5 quizzes

3 videos

The developmental systems approach11mWhat it takes to study development from a developmental systems approach7mIntroduction to Dynamics of Youth and the cohort studies3m

7 readings

General introduction10mShort survey10mIntroduction10mApplying the developmental systems approach to well-being1hOptional readings on the developmental systems approach1hIntroduction10mThe YOUth cohort studies15m

4 practice exercises

What do you know already?30mTest your knowledge on the developmental systems approach30mHow can you make it happen?30mWhat do you think of Dynamics of Youth and the cohort studies?30m

Week2

Week 2

7 hours to complete

Brain and motor development

7 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 35 min), 6 readings, 3 quizzes

5 videos

The early developing brain11mGrowing synapses - Interview with a brain researcher3mDeveloping motor skills9mInterview with a human movement scientist5mWEIRD science6m

6 readings

Introduction10mBrain plasticity and behaviour1h 30mOptional reading on the developing brain1h 30mOptional reading on brain plasticity15mIntroduction3mThe development of motor behavior1h

3 practice exercises

Test your knowledge on brain development30mTest your knowledge on motor development30mWhat did you learn about brain and motor development?30m

Week3

Week 3

4 hours to complete

Cognitive development

4 hours to complete

6 videos (Total 35 min), 2 readings, 3 quizzes

6 videos

The emergence of thinking and understanding11mPlaying (with) rats - Interview with a neurobiologist3mRats and synapses - Interview about interdisciplinary collaboration5mExperimenting teenagers - Interview with a psychologist3mApplied geography - Interview with a social geographer3mEmbodied cognition, culture and geography7m

2 readings

Introduction10mMore on cognitive development1h 30m

2 practice exercises

Test your knowledge on cognitive development30mWhat did you learn about cognitive development?30m

Week4

Week 4

4 hours to complete

Communication

4 hours to complete

5 videos (Total 27 min), 3 readings, 3 quizzes

5 videos

Speech and language development9m'Talking' Zebrafinches - Interview with a biologist3mTalking to babies - Interview with a linguist3mLanguage and machine learning - Interview with a brain imaging expert3mLanguage, (embodied) cognition and culture6m

3 readings

Introduction10mCracking the code of language1hMedia literacy1h

3 practice exercises

What do you know already about language development?30mTest your knowledge on speech and language development30mWhat did you learn about speech and language development?30m

Reviews

4.6

82 reviews

5 stars
74.89%
4 stars
17.99%
3 stars
2.92%
2 stars
0.83%
1 star
3.34%

TOP REVIEWS FROM UNDERSTANDING CHILD DEVELOPMENT: FROM SYNAPSE TO SOCIETY

by JJSep 27, 2020

Increased my knowledge about child development. Helpful quizzes, assessments and forums.

by RRMay 12, 2020

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to this course. It was very well designed and it was informative in easy way..

by RRFeb 19, 2020

excellent explanation of the subject. But....... not at all easy... if you want to choose this one, you should be ready to spend more time than prescribed... surely...

HAD FUN LEARNING

by MLMar 11, 2022

A brief yet comprehensive course for child development. Really helped me understand the frameworks and critical aspects of child development.

View all reviews

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Is financial aid available?
Yes. In select learning programs, you can apply for financial aid or a scholarship if you can’t afford the enrollment fee. If fin aid or scholarship is available for your learning program selection, you’ll find a link to apply on the description page.

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Understanding child development: from synapse to society

Understanding child development: from synapse to society

About this Course